Apr 19, 2014

35 Indian Seeds gain media literacy skills

35 Indian Seeds gain media ...

MUMBAI | Over the weekend of April 19, Seeds of Peace held a two-day uninational workshop at the Bombay International School to discuss issues of critical media literacy.

Led by facilitator Mansi Panjwani, 35 participants, including 22 Seeds, learned the skills and tools necessary to become media literate and critical consumers and creators of media.

On the first day of the program, participants attended a seminar defining what channels of information constitute media. They discussed the roles different forms of media play in their daily lives, and the importance of cultivating critical media literacy.

Inquiry and vigilant curiosity were stressed as the most important skills in media consumption, and the workshop provided the Seeds with five essential questions to discern the truth within the media they consume. Throughout the workshop, media literacy was portrayed as the importance of asking the right questions, not having the right answers.

One Seed said she “learned how to detect the true opinion hidden in a fact.”

“The workshop opened my eyes to how the media tries to manipulate us,” said another.

Through a series of videos, activities and presentations, Seeds were encouraged to adopt a probing approach to media, posing questions like “How might different audiences interpret the same media production?”

Keeping in mind the influence of media, on the second day of the workshop participants discussed the power of the media in establishing a culture of war or a culture of peace. They used new skills from the workshop to analyze how the media can contribute to perspectives of violence in everyday life.

Finally, the Seeds discussed their own roles as critical media “prosumers”—producers and consumers—in today’s world, and how they will apply their newly acquired tools in the future.

Participants left the workshop feeling empowered to analyze and deconstruct messages shown in current media, to distinguish opinions from facts, and to apply critical inquiry in their own lives.